Patagonia – Rock Guide Shorts Review

Do you ever find yourself arm baring half way up a 5.9 chimney hoping that the bomb proof cold shut will hold? No well me neither because this is climber speak and its taken me half an hour on Google and a series of emails to a climbing buddy to construct that sentence.

If however you understood all or part of that sentence that will mean you are part of the climbing fraternity and these shorts will definetley interest you. Specifically designed for rock climbing these Rock Guide Shorts from Patagonia are a high tech piece of technical wear with many features that will appeal to climbers and outdoor lovers. Available for men and women in a choice of 2 colours (Retro Khaki or Forge Grey) and are priced at $69 direct from Patagonia.

Patagonia - Rock Guide (Forge Grey)

As we have come to expect from Patagonia these shorts are very well put together both in terms of build quality and design. The fabric is 96% nylon and 4% spandex mix which makes them very hard wearing and surprisingly flexible, a definite advantage for climbers but useful for everyone. I can confirm the hardyness of these shorts personally after a recent incident. I would love to say I was climbing an overhang but had to cut my own line to save my climbing buddy or something equally heroic. The truth is I fell over on a gravel slope trying to change tracks on my ipod. Either way what I can tell you is that the shorts survived without a scuff and the skin on my legs didn’t, at least not all of it. I would of expected them to at least tear or badly scruff wrecking them but due to this clever fabric they were unaffected.

These shorts also feature Patagonia’s Trademark Deluge water repellent technology making them very quick drying and means theres no need to change when the heavens open. This coupled with 40+ UPF sun protection also make these shorts a good choice for hiking, travelling and general outdoor use.

Patagonia - Rock Guide (Retro Khaki)

The features which will most appeal to climbers are the gusseted crotch aiding flexibility and movement. Also off set belt loops on the waist band have been designed with harness wearing in mind. There is also an easily accessible stitched-on thigh pocket to hold your topo (route guide/map). The weight of this item is very impressive at just under 200 grams for the men’s and 221 grams for the women’s version.

In summary whilst these shorts are technically minded for climbing and after speaking to several climbers they perform admirably at this task they are also a good looking and comfortable pair of shorts for everyday use. In the park, on the trial or on the couch. The only word I have against them is the limit of womans sizes the biggest being 14, this seems a size to small the average being 16 in the UK.

For details of where to buy please visit Patagonia

*Gear provided for review by the manufacturer. To have your Travel Gear reviewed on Vagabond Journey Travel contact us.

About

Wade Shepard is a traveling writer who has been traveling the world since 1999, through 76 countries. He is the author of Ghost Cities of China, a contributor to Forbes, Citiscope, The Diplomat, and many other publications. This is his personal blog where he collects the stories, anecdotes, and observations from his travels that don’t fit in anywhere else.

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